Some of the best nights as adults are spent around a table battling it out against friends and family in a good board game night. Whether you are looking to save money by not going out or the weather is rubbish, board games are an entertaining way to spend your weekend nights. Over the last few years, these kinds of games have risen in popularity again, with those seeking storytelling, strategy, and socialising that screens cannot provide. Different board games have different vibes, but what are the best board games for adults?
1. Casino Games
Roll out the green felt table mat and bring Vegas home. A great board game-esque way of spending the night in with your mates is by hosting a casino night. This combines the tactical side of board games with the competitive edge of placing wagers against your mates. These kinds of nights are sure to have the highs of the best bluffs and the lows of tension-filled filled unlucky losses.
With the right at-home casino kit, you can offer the roulette wheel, have games of Poker or Blackjack, or even consider some dice games such as Liar’s Dice. These games all have elements of luck involved, along with skill in the card games. Regardless, placing wagers and seeing how you get on can be a really fun way to spend a Saturday evening with your mates.
If you don’t have the right equipment to host a casino night, gathering a few friends to play online casino games together is just as fun and allows for much easier handling of any winnings – no cash needed. The sites on the best ethereum poker websites list by 99Bitcoins are great if poker is your favorite game as everyone can join the same table to play together virtually then enjoy near-instant cashout if they’re lucky enough to win. Otherwise, you could all join and play the same slot machine together and see who can make the biggest profit.
2. Catan
Catan is one of the most popular board games in the world, and for good reason, having sold 32 million copies globally. It is widely associated with being the title that brought modern board games into mainstream acknowledgement. The name of the game is to build enough infrastructure on the board to make it to the points total. Players collect resources, trade with each other or the bank, and build settlements or cities to gain points. The game relies on players trading and alliances. But it is a fine balance of strategy, negotiation, and the luck of the dice.
Catan is very changeable with the tiles on the board able to be swapped about, along with expansion packs, which have added extra gameplay to the original. Because of this, every game feels different, with no 2 games having the same outcome. The dice rolls are unpredictable, and players can use strategy to gamble or block other players. Catan is the perfect blend of strategy and social, perfect for those who are looking for that competition without hostility.
3. Monopoly Go!
Everyone has heard of Monopoly and played endless hours of the game with their family. But sometimes a game of Monopoly is pretty daunting for people these days, with some games going on for hours and hours. Instead, there is a new and adapted version of Monopoly, called Monopoly Go!, which is the perfect game for beach days on vacation or a quick round in the pub.
Monopoly Go! is a card game that is based on an App which was developed for Monopoly fans to play digitally. The App has been downloaded by more than 150 million people since it was released in 2023, showing its extreme popularity. The Monopoly Go! Card game is quick fire, with games only lasting around 20 minutes, and is much faster-paced than traditional Monopoly, but that is the beauty of this game. Players get their own board, every player rolls at the same time, and players race to build landmarks without the arduous issue of money in the original Monopoly game. Players can affect other players’ games through ‘shut-downs’ in some lighthearted fun. It is a much friendlier, easy to play, and quicker version of the classic game, which many love to have a few games of whilst sitting having a drink or on holiday.
4. Cards Against Humanity
In that same ilk of tabletop card games which come under the board games bracket but have derived very much from original board games is the classic and laughter-filled, Cards Against Humanity. This undisputed classic of dark humour and chaos is specifically designed for adults and thrives on dark comedy and wit.
Each round, every player will get the same prompt card. The players then need to use the cards in their hands to fill in the blanks on the prompts. The prompts are usually something outlandishly inappropriate or offensive. Once everyone has paired these up with equally absurd cards of their own to fill in the blank, the reader chooses which they think is the funniest.
The beauty of this game is that people can often find the humour in things that they would otherwise never have put together. Instantly hilarious with simple rules, Cards Against Humanity is easy to play and offers endless content for a board game night with your friends and family. This game is built for laughter and fun rather than strategy or competition.
5. Scrabble
For those who want to engage their brain a bit more, look no further than the language classic, Scrabble. This relaxed and slow board game is the iconic classic for a reason. Decades after it was released, it remains undoubtedly one of the best board games available to play.
Scrabble relies on players’ ability to create words from letters and rewards a strong vocabulary, along with some keen strategy and some luck. The Scrabble rules are simple. Each player draws letters and takes turns turning them into words on the board. Joining specific letters with places on the board can give you more points, but the game aims to get the most amount of points and beat your opponents. As the board fills up, placement becomes tactical, and players need to become creative.
This game is mentally stimulating and subdued, but also fiercely competitive, and has an appeal that will continue to allow it to thrive. The evergreen appeal of Scrabble is that anyone can play, and it is accessible for those new to it as well as those who have played it for years.
